The present invention pertains to the art of domestic appliances and, more particularly, to a push-to-open system for a domestic appliance, such as a refrigerator.
Frequently, homeowners are concerned not just with the functionality of their kitchens but also the aesthetics. Minimalism is one popular design style that is especially prevalent in the premium segment of certain markets. Minimalist designs often feature cabinets that lack handles, as well as appliances hidden behind the cabinets (i.e., built-in appliances). This presents a challenge in that the user needs to have a way to open the door of an appliance located within a handle-less cabinet.
For standard cabinets (i.e., those not concealing an appliance), a push-to-open system is sometimes used where pushing inward on the cabinet door triggers the system, which then pushes the door outward so that the user can reach between the door and the remainder of the cabinet to fully open the door. Although this works well for the relatively lighter doors of standard cabinets, when a cabinet door is used as or coupled to an appliance door, such as a refrigerator door of a built-in refrigerator, the weight of the door, as well as the seal provided by a refrigerator door, makes it difficult for a typical push-to-open system to push the door outwards a sufficient distance.
To address this problem, electromechanical push-to-open systems have been developed. However, such systems are larger and more expensive than mechanical push-to-open systems. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a push-to-open system that can be used with an appliance door but that is smaller and less expensive than known electromechanical push-to-open systems.